Rishi Sunak meets airport sniffer dog after Border Force stopped record number of drugs entering entering UK
RISHI Sunak meets a team of UK Border Force officers and their sniffer dogs.
The PM was seen crouching down and gently stroking an enthusiastic black spaniel as he chatted away with an officer at Gatwick Airport.
The visit came after his flagship Rwanda Bill passed the Commons unamended as a threatened Tory rebellion fizzled out.
It was also to mark Border Force stopping a record number of illegal drugs from entering the country.
In the year ending March 2023, Border Force made a total of 25,834 drug seizures, a 24% increase from last year and the highest on record.
Over 92 tonnes of illegal drugs were seized by Police and Border Force - the highest volume since 2003/4.
READ MORE ON THE RWANDA BILL
Minister for Legal Migration Tom Pursglove also visited Border Force officers to thank them for their commitment at Stansted Airport.
Mr Sunak had earlier demanded the unelected Lords back his flagship Rwanda plan saying it was an "urgent national priority" to "start the flights".
The Prime Minister used a hastily-arranged press conference in Downing Street to urge peers to rally round his deportation bill.
But the PM did not give a guarantee a plane to Rwanda will take off before the next general election when pressed by the media.
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He said: "I have been crystal clear that we want to do this as quickly as possible...
"And it's now up to the House of Lords."